By: Richard Neil Graham (LFL360.com)
Photo: Joe Petro/LFL PHOTOS
When the Los Angeles Temptation (3-1) take on the undefeated Las Vegas Sin (4-0) this Sunday afternoon, they’re not expecting a cakewalk – they’re expecting a war. Both teams are coming off solid wins. The Sin shut out the Green Bay Chill 30-0, while the Temptation clinched a playoff berth with 42-26 win over the Chicago Bliss to earn their right to play the Sin for the Western Conference title.
According to L.A. Temptation All-Fantasy Center Natalie Jahnke, Las Vegas has proved they’re a strong team.
“They’re going into the playoffs undefeated,” Jahnke said. “We were there before. Obviously, their confidence is very high and they feel like the sky’s the limit, but they do need to understand that we’re a whole different group from the one they played at the beginning of the season. We have Biz (Coach Dave Bizub) back, we’ve had the opportunity to become stronger and to raise our football IQ, and we want it. Basically, we have the drive, and we’re definitely prepared for war on Sunday.”
Jahnke said that the Temptation will have to focus on key Sin players.
“Nikki Johnson at quarterback is just a fantastic athlete,” Jahnke said. “It’s all about containing her and keeping her in the pocket. We can’t let her scramble, because she is a great runner. She is able to create yardage and opportunities for her team when she scrambles. So, it’s basically sacking her and putting her under pressure every time. Cassandra Strickland is a great receiver and a great safety and she plays both sides of the ball. Sunshine Misa-Uli, playing on the offensive line as well as playing on the defensive line proves to be one of their star players.”
Jahnke is aware that there are a lot of doubters out there, as the Temptation hasn’t been the dominant force of previous years.
“A lot of people have underestimated the Temptation,” Jahnke said. “It definitely has been a bumpy road for us with our coaching change, but it really shows you the athleticism, the heart, and the drive of the team, regardless of whoever is the coach. We’ve really proved that we’re the team to look for and the team to beat.”
L.A. Temptation Coach Dave Bizub agreed with Jahnke that the Sin would provide a challenge… again.
“It’s going to be the toughest game we’re going to have all year,” Bizub said. “I wasn’t there for the first game against the Sin, but I saw that it was a tight game. I expect that they’re going to come out well prepared. They’ve got a great coach. Sin Coach Dion Lee has been doing this for a long time. They’re a really good football team.”
Asked about the Sin’s strengths, Bizub said, “They’re a lot bigger than we are. I mean, they’re giants. They’re a lot like we were last year. We’re not as big as we were last year, especially on the front line.”
So, what’s the Temptation game plan?
“We do what we do, they do what they do, and whoever plays the best is probably going to win,” Bizub said. “I don’t think that they’ll have too many surprises. We have film on them and they have film on us, so there’s not going to be that much that’s going to be an ultimate surprise. We’ve all got plays that we haven’t used. We’ll have to see how the game goes and make adjustments. Look at (our game against) Chicago Bliss; they had us pinned to the wall and we had to make adjustments. We changed things up, did some things we’ve never done before, and were successful doing it.”
Temptation Defensive Coordinator Tui Suiaunoa agreed with Natalie Jahnke that the Temptation needs to pressure Sin QB Nikki Johnson.
“We need to shut down Vegas’s run game and force them to pass the ball so we can get pressure on their QB and force a turnover,” Suiaunoa said. “We need constant pressure on their QB, because she can’t scramble and make plays when she is on the move. We’ll keep Johnson from scrambling by keeping her in the pocket, but we’ll apply pressure quickly to force her to make bad decisions so we can get turnovers.”
Suiaunoa said that the Temptation will continue the play that shut down the Chicago Bliss in the second half of the last game, and that, “We are a whole new team now that we have begun to really click as a squad. We are firing on all cylinders by going back to our championship style offense and defense. We are going at them with everything we got.”
Let the battle begin.
Tags: Dave Bizub, L.A. Temptation, Las Vegas Sin, Natalie Jahnkie, nikki johnson, RICHARD GRAHAM
